Photos of computer lab in Miguel Hall
ZENDRAH BONNICK/THE QUADRANGLE
Zendrah Bonnick, Asst. News Editor
Over the summer, the New York State Education Department granted official approval for the 128-credit cybersecurity bachelor’s program to come to Manhattan University (MU).
The new programs being added to MU’s Kakos School of Arts and Sciences include majors in computational neuroscience, cybersecurity, data science and integrated marketing communications. Due to the recent approval, the university’s new programs are currently only available to continuing students.
In a short article published on the manhattan.edu website, the university announced the implementation of the new programs at MU.
“The program’s introduction comes at a moment when the importance of cybersecurity expertise is more visible than ever,” the university stated.
Lawrence Udeigwe, Ph.D., a professor of mathematics and director of integrative programs at the university, spoke to The Quadrangle about how the university intends to implement the new majors as a part of its interdisciplinary integrative program known as ARCH.
“ARCH stands for analytics, research, creativity and humanity, but we just call it ARCH,” Udeigwe said. “The goal is that if you go to MU, you choose a major and you’re supposed to have an in-depth [education] surrounding that major. ARCH is a way of adding something else, adding more range through the activities going on at the university.”
Beyond the new majors, the university’s announcement, posted on the manhattan.edu website, also highlighted the changes to the computer science program, which are intended to strengthen the STEM program and help students keep pace with the evolving technological landscape.
“As artificial intelligence systems grow more capable and are increasingly tested in real-world security contexts, organizations need professionals who can anticipate, defend against, and respond to emerging digital threats,” the university stated.
Later, in his interview, Udeigwe shared more specifics about the goals of the ARCH program.
“We bring interdisciplinary speakers, multidisciplinary speakers, to talk to our students,” Udeigwe said. “Another way is that we encourage students to inquire about how they can get involved in interdisciplinary projects through their classroom or extracurricular activities. We hope to inspire interdisciplinary conversation through these new majors, including data science, integrated marketing and communication, computational neuroscience and cybersecurity.”
Richie Alvarez, a sophomore civil engineering major, shared his perspective on the university’s changes to the STEM program.
“I think it’s good,” Alvarez said. “There are more opportunities and different pathways that students can take.”
Udeigwe went on to further explain an example of how the interdisciplinary program is intended to function in his description of computational neuroscience.
“Computational neuroscience is a major that prepares you to study the brain,” Udeigwe said. “It combines the strengths of our biology, psychology and mathematics programs to give students the tools to model the brain computationally and theoretically.”
Students will learn neuroscience, psychology, cognitive neuroscience and systems neuroscience, while also developing skills in mathematics, advanced statistics and machine learning.
Alvarez also discussed how students with backgrounds in these fields may fare in an increasingly technology-driven job market, where technological tools have become more accessible and widely used.
“[There is] definitely the demand in the job market, and opportunities that you can get by pursuing this type of education,” Alvarez said.